The Red Sox got a well-pitched game from start to finish Sunday to avert a sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros, posting a 4-1 victory to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Astros managed a run in the first off starter Eduardo Rodriguez, but that was the last run they managed. Rodriguez lasted six innings and didn't allow another run. Houston, limited to four hits, didn't collect a hit after the third inning.
After tying the game in the third, the Sox took their first lead of the series in the fourth on a solo homer from Rafael Devers. In the fifth, they added another on a double from Eduardo Nunez and an error by second baseman Yuli Gurriel.
WHO: Red Sox at Houston Astros
WHEN: 2:10 p.m.
WHERE: Minute Maid Park
SERIES TO DATE: Houston 2-0
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Houston 4-1
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 5.43) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (8-1, 2.24)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93. FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
4:50 Control an issue for Matt Barnes again. After walking two of the four hitters he faced Saturday night in the ninth, he's issued a one-out walk to pinch-hitter Tony Kemp, bringing the potential tying run to the plate.
4:12 Strong throw from Vazquez and nice tag from Pearce, erasing Correa with a back pick at first.
4:01 Like teammate Gerritt Cole last weekend at Fenway, Verlander is feeding Michael Chavis a steady diet of fastballs. To date, Chavis hasn't been able to handle them -- three at-bats, three strikeouts.
3:43 Today, it's the Astros who are making the mistakes. Error by Gurriel at second allows Nunez to score the third Red Sox run.
3:36 Rodriguez a bit more efficient in the last two innings, needing just 25 pitches in the third and fourth after throwing 40 over the first two. Given the load on the bullpen last night, the deeper he goes, the better for the Sox.
3:17 Devers does it at the plate, too, hammering a four-seamer to straightaway center field for his seventh homer -- all in the last 20 games. That gives the Red Sox their first lead in the series.
3:12 Superb barehand play by Rafael Devers, who charges in, grabs a slow roller by Carlos Correa and makes an on-target throw to first to get the first out. Worth noting: since Devers made that costly ninth-inning error in Chicago on May 2, he's not committed an error.
3:02 Not a base hit with runners in scoring position, but the next best thing for the Red Sox: a sacrifice fly to center by Andrew Benintendi, scoring Steve Pearce from third. Sox remain a combined 2-for-18 with RISP in the series.
2:38 Red Sox have their hands full with Justin Verlander today -- he's got four strikeouts in the first two innings and is pumping premium gas, filling up the zone with ease.
2:27 More slipshod defense from the Red Sox, as Eduardo Nunez's throw to the plate is off-line, only to be mishandled by Christian Vazquez, allowing Aledmys Diaz to score from second.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Devers 3B
Martinez DH
Chavis 2B
Vazquez C
Pearce 1B
Bradley CF
Nunez SS
ASTROS
Diaz 2b
Bregman 3B
Brantley DH
Correa SS
Gurriel 1B
Reddick RF
Chirinos C
Marisnick CF
Fisher LF
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox dropped a 4-3 decision to the Astros Saturday night, their second straight loss, and are now just 5-6 in their last 11..Saturday's loss snapped a streak of seven straight games in which the Red Sox had hit at least one homer....They have 44 homers in their last 23 games, third most of any MLB team in that span....They've homered in 20 of their last 23 games....In his last 22 games, Christian Vazquez, who delivered a game-tying two-run single in the ninth inning Friday, is hitting .373 with an OPS of .966....Michael Chavis became only the fifth player since 1920 to hit 10 homers and knock in at least 25 runs in his first 30 games, all before turning 24. The others: Albert Pujols, Orlando Cepeda, George Scott and Jeff Francoeur….The Sox are in danger of being swept in a three-game series today for the first time since last August, when they dropped three in a row at Tampa Bay....That's the only one of the last 68 series of three games in which the Sox have been swept, dating back to August of 2017. In that same span, they've recorded 19 sweeps of their own...The Sox are 11-5 in series finales this season, with wins in the final games of the last seven series and nine of the last 10....Since 2016, 12 of the last 22 regular season games between the Red Sox and Astros have been decided by one run, ,including each of the last three...The Sox are 7-5 in those dozen games...Mookie Betts has a four-game hitting streak....Jackie Bradley Jr. has homered in three of his last six games...J.D. Martinez, back in the lineup after missing last night's game (and four of the last five overall) is hitless in his last 14 at-bats....Rafael Devers has a six-game hitting streak. Since April 15, he's batting .360 over the last 35 games with a slugging percentage of .574...Vazquez has a four-game hitting streak and he leads the American League in May with a batting average of .387....Eduardo Nunez has at least one hit in his last six road games....Including the postseason, today marks Eduardo Rodriguez's 100th career start...The Sox are 61-38 over the first 99 of those, including 27-7 since the start of 2018...They're also 7-1 in his last eight starts...Rodriguez has allowed 11 runs in his last two starts after allowing 11 in his previous six starts combined...This will mark his first career regular season start in Minute Maid Park...Aledmys Diaz is 1-for-9 lifetime against Rodriguez and Robinson Chirinos is just 1-for-6 while Carlos Correa is 4-for-5....Betts is 0-for-13 lifetime against Justin Verlander and Andrew Benintendi is just 1-for-9...Mitch Moreland is 10-for-32 in his career against Verlander while Nunez is 6-for-18.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- Prior to the game, the Red Sox recalled LHP Darwinzon Hernandez from Double A Portland and optioned RHP Colten Brewer to Pawtucket. For Hernandez, this will mark his second stint with the big league team. He pitched 2.1 innings on April 23 against Detroit.
- INF Brock Holt is with the team in Houston but will not be activated, as the Sox need to retain 13 pitchers on the roster after using four relievers from the first through the ninth on Saturday night.